Returns will significantly reduce your profit margin. It works like a quiet siphon to stifle your joy in the face of rising income figures.
Items are not only returned, but even in the absence of income, you will still be responsible for paying a large portion of the expenses (making them much worse than replacements). Even worse, you will lose money twice if the things are returned to you in a state unfit for resale. Furthermore, your star ratings will probably be impacted by returns, and if they go below four stars, it might be terrible.
It is just not possible for you to allow returns to become too high as an online retailer. Finding the source of the issue—why are customers returning their goods, for example—is the first step in solving any problem. A returns audit will be crucial in this situation. You may proceed with correcting it after you get a response to that query.
Comfortable
The furniture and home retailer Comfty is one company that conducted a returns audit using Onsite. They were able to identify and solve over 60% of Comfty’s issues, which included, among other things, inadequate product instructions, missing or broken components, an excessive amount of assembly difficulty, and unsatisfactory customer support.
The “get product support” button on Amazon was created by Onsite. This brought users to a personalized landing page, which OnSite assisted in designing, to address any post-purchase support concerns they may be experiencing.
Customers could now see assembly videos, request missing parts from the box, and generally solve any problems by going straight to the landing page from their orders page on Amazon.
In the end, Comfty was able to prevent 603 returns, saving almost $75,000 and reducing the company’s return expenditures by 18% overall.
Eco-friendly Lighting
Another example is the home and garden brand GreenLightning, which discovered that 1,715 of the 6,895 returned products in the third quarter of last year (worth a total of over half a million dollars) were completely preventable. The brand’s net PPM decreased by 40% as a consequence.
The primary problem was discovered during a returns audit conducted using Onsite: too many replacement components were required. Based on that knowledge, Onsite was able to resolve the problem by implementing a replacement component program.
The net effect was a 17% decrease in the influence of returns on earnings, with $60,000 worth of returns eliminated on a quarterly basis.
The Westinghouse
An excessive number of returns on Amazon might increase your order defect rate (ODR), which measures the percentage of faulty items sent to consumers within a certain time frame. Should it deviate excessively, Amazon will disclose it to the public via a banner on your product page. Put up a large yellow sign that reads, “Buyers Beware!”
Westinghouse, an electronics company, was having trouble figuring out why the order failure rate for their best-selling heater was rising so quickly. Working with Onsite, they identified a significant issue: 25% of the brand’s return contribution was attributable to consumers’ perceptions that the heater was not heating their homes enough.
They came up with alternatives, such as posting information on the product page on the voltage, material, and operating temperature of the device, along with the amount of space needed for it to operate at its best.
As a result, Westinghouse was able to save $75,000 by reducing its heater returns by 25% during the season.
Decker and Black
Anyone familiar with do-it-yourself projects will recognize the brand Black and Decker. Their air conditioners, however, are less well-known than their power equipment. However, while attempting to increase their market share, even the titans might run into difficulties.
Black & Decker was put in a difficult situation when company started receiving a lot of returns for its best-selling product and was unable to determine why. To exacerbate the situation, the returns were causing it to fall in the rankings in comparison to its rivals.
This is where Onsite becomes useful. They were able to pinpoint some of the main complaints from consumers, such as drainage concerns, poor customer service, insufficient assembly instructions, and an apparent inability to appropriately chill the area. It was discovered that with adequate customer service, almost 7% of all returns might have been prevented.
A few minor adjustments were made, such as updating the product listings and descriptions and enhancing the customer care platforms. All of these adjustments resulted in an 8% decline in returns.
They have also managed to hang onto their 4.3-star rating, which puts them above the 4-star mark.
You may quickly begin recovering some of the money back if you do a returns audit with Onsite. You will get a thorough analysis of your returns in 7–10 days. Furthermore, by giving customers an easy and convenient way to learn more about the product and hopefully resolve the issue before needing to write a review—which tends to come from more negative experiences than positive ones—Onsite’s “get product support button” gives sellers a highly effective way to let customers figure out their own problems. This is important because it diverts customers from leaving a negative review or a low star rating.
The product support landing pages are easily accessible through a QR code and offer a comprehensive range of resources such as product guides, video tutorials, explainer packs, FAQs, and anything else a buyer might require. Additionally, a direct chat function allows them to contact you directly in the event that the supporting materials are insufficient.